Tuesday, June 2, 2015

it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a plastic model kit.

Hello All,

Have you thrown a Model Party? It is easy, and you don't need to know anyone whose been on the cover of Vogue. It might be more concisely called a Model Kit Party.

We have had two- the first had everyone building the same plastic kit model- a model T, with nice rubber tires. It was fiddly, and a pain, like plastic model building always is, but when you have a Model Party, you can pool your resources and skills. Also, something more gets shared, and I am not sure what to call this frisson that you feel from making things with others. It isn't the same as the fun of intently focusing in isolation in your studio, with Philip Glass playing softly, but it is fun, and it is edifying in surprising and subtle ways.

Here is what you will need to throw a model party: Guests, models, paint, glue and tools, a work surface; also food. You won't need too many tools, because everyone will bring some to share. The same could go for food, but in our case the host house provided all comestibles.

The model pictured came from Model Party #2: The Golden Age of Flight. In this party, guests chose their own plane from the given era, instead of everyone building the exact same kit.